Hi, all! Thank you for your support thus far. 

I received the following email message from the Manistique Middle and High School principal, John Shiner, after school today. He highlighted questions included in or parts of my letter and then answered.

I thought I would share to let you know at least one school official has taken the time to comment on the letter and petition:

1. "Students were made aware of these changes at the end of the first day of school via a school-wide intercom announcement."  There was an announcement but this topic was also covered by me during class meetings on day 2.  It was also stated, to the students, that if your parents are not comfortable with me covering the rules with the children and then subsequently signing the form sent home, then I would send a hard copy and or visit with parents in person.
2. required to be signed by each parent and student — was printed with a link to the 2021-22 handbook, which did not include the changes.  The new handbook is online.  By my oversight there was a delay.
3. “The length of shorts or skirts must be appropriate (fingertip with arms extended at sides) for the school environment.” “Shirts/blouses should cover a student's chest and have straps that are at least three fingers wide.” “Shirts must overlap with pants, shorts or skirts.” I disagree with you in that this is targeting females.  I went out of the way to remove all gender pronouns.  This was after what I would say was lengthy discussions with a few BOE members.
4. “Students whose dress causes a disruption of the orderly process of school functions or endangers the health or safety of the student, other students, staff or others may be subject to discipline. Students not wearing appropriate clothing may be excluded from classes until corrections can be made. Time lost due to dress code violations is unexcused.”  Rules and parameters are absolutely necessary to keep a school's operations safe and orderly.  This includes dress codes for which there must be boundaries and likewise consequences for those that choose not to follow rules.  This seems like a good life lesson as well.
5. Who was responsible for determining these limitations? Are they evaluated yearly or just accepted as the norm?  Ultimately, John Shiner recommends and the BOE approves.  Yes, They are evaluated.
6. Additionally, has there been a student wearing a shirt that does not cover their chest? Or is this meant to serve as a thinly-veiled attempt to regulate cleavage? Is there a reason why a student needs to have their cleavage covered?  Not specifically that I recall.  As a rule though, I pass this matter (non covered chests onto Michelle)   No.  Nothing veiled about it.  Yes, (A) because students need boundaries and (B) for the same reason  a students rear end should not be exposed…it is a distraction to learning.  Independent of the sex of the student that is overexposed…it is a distraction.  I guess the best analogy I can give is that clothes that may be worn to the beach or a party on a weekend are not the same as the ones that should be worn to school, church or work.
7. “Holes, rips, tears in pants must be below fingertip length.” Who was in charge of implementing this rule? Why was it determined that a rip in a pair of jeans must be below fingertip length? Is this the general consensus of more modest board members who exist outside the realm of current fashion, expression, and a public school student’s constitutional right to free expression?  John Shiner suggests and the BOE approves…or not…..as was the case this time when we considered pronouns.   It is aligned with the fingertip length that is set for shorts and skirts.  I don't know about their view points in terms of being modest.
8. Clothing can become a disruption if not kept in check by school administrators.  I dont allow dog collars or spiked chokers as they could potentially be used as a weapon.  Back in the late 90’s (early 2000’s)  very low cut jeans with a thong sticking out the back of  jeans was a trend that was disruptive to the education of others.  

I am all about freedom of expression but there has to be a line where decorum plays a part as well.  Likewise, I do not care if parents drink alcohol but I do have a problem with it being advertised on a shirt.  This is where a dress code comes into play.  There has to be a means to normalize this for students.  I agree  with you that preconceived notions can have a detrimental effect on a person but this does not mean we leave student dress up to the students.  I am not concerned if a boy dresses as a girl (a pretty gutsy form of self expression if you ask me) but this same individual must be held to a dress code.  Finally, there are students that wear jeans with holes that are way too close to the crotch.  Shouldn't there be a means of controlling this type of exposure?  Again, this is where a dress code comes in.

So you know, there was a great deal of thought that went into this revision of the dress code.  Through some lengthy discussions, personal pronouns were removed as a means of removing the feeling of ostracizing certain students.  All that being said, there is always room for improvement so I thank you for your input but would prefer your talk to me first when it comes to matters for which I am ultimately responsible."